The Anaheim Ducks‘ starting goaltender will miss the start of the season. The team announced that John Gibson underwent surgery last night. Gibson is expected to be out for approximately 3-6 weeks. The Ducks goalie received treatment for what was an emergency appendectomy surgery.
Injury Update:
Goaltender John Gibson underwent emergency appendectomy surgery last night. He is expected to be out for approximately 3-6 weeks.https://t.co/9e2DCrzBUI— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) September 26, 2024
Gibson is out 3-6 Weeks
Gibson has been Anaheim’s go-to for nearly a decade now. For most of his career, he’s been the renowned number-one goaltender. In the last four years, Gibson has been in the top five in the league for saves made and shots against. That’s because, in recent years, the Ducks haven’t been a very good team, typically a lottery team. However, despite being peppered with all these shots over the years, Gibson still puts up great numbers.
Throughout his career, he’s averaged a .910 save percentage and faced over 14,000 shots. The last two seasons haven’t been up to Gibson’s standard, however. He finished both those years with save percentages below .900%. In fact, since the 2019-20 season, the Ducks goaltender has slowly regressed in terms of statistics and probably energy, too.
Anaheim Ducks Goaltending Situation
While Gibson will be gone for a minimum of three weeks to begin the 2024-25 season, it’s not all bad for the Ducks. Acting as the backup goalie for the two seasons or so, Lukas Dostal will be promoted to starter. He’s been an exciting young goaltender for the Ducks as he climbs up the ranks and progresses into what will be his third full season. The 24-year-old will be looking to take advantage of the opportunity ahead of him.
That means it opens up a spot for a new backup goalie for the time being. There are a couple of candidates for that role in the Ducks organization. One would be Oscar Dansk, formerly of the Erie Otters. While he’s only played six total NHL games, the 30-year-old is looking for a big break to find some consistency to become a regular backup potentially. The other candidate for the job is Calle Clang. Clang is a 22-year-old rookie who hasn’t opened his NHL account yet. However, the role of a backup goaltender is a great way to ease into the action and a great way to learn what it takes to be a pro.
Main Photo: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
